How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

January 20, 2016

I fell in love with cold brew coffee about a year ago. Before that I could not understand why anyone would ever drink coffee cold. Coffee is supposed to be warm and cozy, right? I’m really not sure what possessed me to try it cold but I did. It was iced coffee and surprisingly I really liked it! From there I moved on to cold brew and I have never looked back! Cold brew is very different from iced coffee. Iced coffee is coffee that was brewed hot and then chilled and poured over ice. To make cold brew you steep coffee grounds in room temperature water for an extended amount of time. Since the coffee beans do not come in contact with heated water you are left with smooth and sweet coffee that is much less acidic than hot brewed coffee.

I started out buying my cold brew from various companies, and I enjoyed that, but living in small town meant that I had to drive an hour and a half away, purchase my cold brew in bulk, and pray that I did’t run out until I went back. I quickly got tired of that and decided to try making it myself.

It is very important to use high quality organic coffee beans. Conventional coffee beans have been bathed in chemicals and pesticides before it reaches your cup. No thank you, organic is the way to go. Then you will need to grind the beans, but leave them coarsely ground. Then pour your grounds into a large bowl. I have an eight cup glass measuring cup that I use as my bowl. Then add your water. I use room temperature bottled water. Stir to make sure all the grounds are covered in water. Cover your bowl and let it sit on your counter for 20-24 hours.

After your coffee has finished steeping you need to use some cheesecloth to strain the coffee grounds. Once your coffee is strained you can bottle it in mason jars and keep it in the refrigerator. It will good to use for several weeks! Play around with how you like to drink it. I like to drink mine at a 1:1 ratio. 1 part coffee to 1 part coconut milk. Look for a post soon on how I like to sweeten my cold brew naturally without adding any creamers or sugar.